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Warning: The following story contains themes of suicide.

It’s been 15 years since the iPhone was released, and in that time we have seen a proliferation of social media apps that have fundamentally changed how people interact.

Massive societal changes have happened as a result, with little thought given to how they could change us as a species. But now, an emerging trend reveals the technological revolution hasn’t been benign. Studies show that overexposure to social media can have a negative effect on the mental health of teen girls.

Studies demonstrate that since 2012, as exposure to social media has increased, the life satisfaction and mental health of teen girls have decreased.

A study from BYU that tracked teens’ social media use from 2009 to 2019 found that while social media had little effect on boys’ suicidality risk, for girls there was a tipping point. Girls who used social media for at least two to three hours a day starting at around 13 and greatly increased their use over time were at “a higher clinical risk for suicide as emerging adults.”

“Something about that specific social media use pattern is particularly harmful for young girls,” said BYU professor Sarah Coyne, the lead author of the study.

The CDC reports that the suicide rate for adolescent girls has doubled since 2007, and in 2015, three times as many 10- to 14-year-old girls were admitted to the emergency room after deliberately harming themselves than in 2010.

There is clearly a mental health crisis happening in teen girls that has grown alongside the use of social media apps, but can we make the leap from mere correlation to causation?

One study found that when young women were randomly assigned to play a video game, look at Facebook or scroll through Instagram for seven minutes, “those who used Instagram, but not Facebook, showed decreased body satisfaction, decreased positive affect, and increased negative affect.”

There’s also evidence that the more time that young girls spend on social media, the less happy they become. The same has been found for boys but the difference was less pronounced.

In 2017, British teens were asked to rank social media sites based on certain well-being measures, including body image and anxiety, and they found Instagram to be the most harmful.

Facebook’s researchers found the same thing in a leaked report.

“Teens blame Instagram for increases in the rate of anxiety and depression … This reaction was unprompted and consistent across all groups,” leaked internal documents from Facebook revealed.

Jonathan Haidt, co-author of “The Coddling of the American Mind,” puts the blame squarely at the feet of Instagram. “Instagram, which displaces other forms of interaction among teens, puts the size of their friend group on public display, and subjects their physical appearance to the hard metrics of likes and comment counts—takes the worst parts of middle school and glossy women’s magazines and intensifies them,” Haidt wrote in The Atlantic.

Haidt’s research partner, Dr. Jean Twenge, author of “iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood,” agrees.

“Teens who use social media, especially girls, can experience body image issues as they compare themselves to influencers on social media. Facebook’s own research found this was a much bigger issue for girls and young women than for boys and young men,” Dr. Twenge told Upworthy. “Teen girls and young women are at an age when body image is central to identity due to (as evolutionary psychologists put it) competition for mates. That occurs for boys and men as well but is not as acute.”

Social media preys on girls where they are most vulnerable and it also exposes them to bullying and negativity. Further, it takes up precious hours in the day when they could be enjoying more fulfilling, positive activities.

“Teens who spend an excessive amount of time on social media (4+ hours) have less time for more beneficial activities,” Dr. Twenge told Upworthy. ”Social media may interfere with sleep, either from teens looking at it late at night or in the middle of the night when they should be sleeping and/or from looking at it before bed and then ruminating about it when they are trying to fall asleep.”

Dr. Twenge told The New York Times that these days, some young girls will opt out of face-to-face social activities in favor of sitting at home, staring at their phones. “It’s now the norm to sit home Saturday night on Instagram. Who’s popular and who’s not is now quantifiable by how many people are following you,” she said.

Social media is a double-edged sword because teens who decide to avoid the apps face social ostracization.

“As one college freshman told me, ‘You feel left out if you use social media, and left out if you don’t. You can’t win,’” Dr. Twenge told Upworthy.

If social media is dangerous for teens but being out of the social loop causes problems as well, what are parents to do? Dr. Twenge says we have to “use it more mindfully.”

Parents should set limits about the amount of time their kids spend on technology and to use control features that allow them to lock their kids’ phones at specific times during the day.

She adds that screen time should end at least an hour before bedtime to avoid disturbing their sleep.

Evidence shows that there is real reason to be concerned about the effect that social media has on young girls. Over the past few decades, there has been a concerted effort to point out the damage that unrealistic body images in advertising and in magazines have had on the psyches of young women, but little acknowledgment of the same kind of negativity on social media.

Let’s hope that the research done by psychologists such as Dr. Twenge inspires a shift in consciousness so that we begin to look at social media with the same scrutiny as traditional media.

If you are having thoughts about taking your own life, or know of anyone who is in need of help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (273-8255) or text “HOME” to the Crisis Text Line: 741741.

People were delighted to see such a loving tribute. The video quickly racked up over 8 million views, with more than a few comments talking about how emotional the tribute made them. Can’t say I blame ’em.

But how did grandma feel about it? Well, in a follow-up video, we see a genuine ear-to-ear smile. Suffice it to say, the idea was a hit.

As one person wrote to Bowman, “you’ll never be able to top this gift.”

It certainly helps that Bowman is vintage savvy. She even helps others find amazing secondhand items through her company Lakyn Thrifts. So getting the clothes and accessories was a piece of old-fashioned pineapple upside-down cake. And the results were just as sweet. Take a look below:

@lakynbowman Happy birthday, Grandma! Thanks for the good genes. 💕 #recreate #photoshoot #birthdayphotoshoot #vintage #grandma ♬ What Once Was – Her’s

This video is not only an instant dash of joy, it’s also a heartwarming reminder that our elders provide the prologue to our life stories. Honoring them can be as simple or creative as we want them to be. But include them. As we can see with this grandma-granddaughter duo, it’ll mean the world to them.

As the Ukrainian people do their best to repel the Russian invasion of their country, the free world has rallied around them with unprecedented support. By now we all recognize the blue and yellow striped Ukrainian flag, representing the blue sky and the golden wheat fields that fill the Ukrainian countryside. We’ve heard the cry “Glory to Ukraine” over and over, from the mouth of President Zelenskyy in his personal videos to the people protesting the war around the world.

The determination, defiance, resolve and courage of the Ukrainian people in the face of Putin’s aggression has galvanized defenders of freedom and democracy everywhere, prompting expressions of solidarity around the world.

One touching example comes from Portugal. During a soccer match on Sunday, 26-year-old Ukrainian soccer player Roman Yaremchuk, who plays for Lisbon’s Benfica team, was brought into the game as a substitute and given the captain’s armband.

Yaremchuk puts on the armband, then runs out onto the pitch. As he’s running, the sound of the crowd grows louder and louder, as people give him—and his country—a standing ovation. Ukrainian flags and signs of support are shown throughout the crowd, and Yaremchuk is visibly moved by the reception.

Watch:

Ukrainian footballer Roman Yaremchuk comes on as a substitute for Benfica in Lisbon. Watch what happens.pic.twitter.com/H2HCZCq9Os

— Piotr Zalewski (@Piotr Zalewski)
1645999890

The lip quiver as he clearly tries to keep it together says it all. Imagine being thousands of miles away from your homeland, knowing your loved ones are having to hide, flee or fight in a war that just arrived on their doorstep. Imagine hearing thousands of people voicing their support for you and your homeland and what that would mean to you.

Hopefully, the world’s outcry for peace and security in Ukraine and the overwhelming condemnation of Russia’s warmaking will make an impact, not only on the spirits of the Ukrainian people but on the people who have the power to put an end to this war.

Once Rome fell, Europe continued the tradition of betrothal rings, but with a slightly more sentimental twist. Now wedding rings signified the promise of engagement. More like a pledge, less like a property statement. And the Roman Catholic Church first started to imbue the sense of faith, matrimony and divine union through the use of rings. Our modern-day sense of a ring symbolizing marriage vows began in this era.

Okay, but, like … where’s the diamond?

Fast forward to 1477, during the engagement between Maximilian I, Archduke of Austria, and Mary of Burgundy. It was a marriage meant to bring peace and expand the Holy Roman Empire. Talk about a power couple. Mary of Burgundy was the first ever to receive a diamond in a wedding ring, starting a new trend throughout Europe. Ring makers everywhere brainstormed new and more impressive ways of cutting and setting the stones. You could say that Mary of Burgundy was a jeweler influencer, before it was cool.

Diamonds at this time were incredibly rare, and therefore incredibly expensive. Not until diamonds were discovered in Brazil during the early 1700s would prices finally drop. And once South African diamonds were found plentiful in the mid 1800s, the shiny stone began flooding jewelry stores everywhere, and for the first time, diamond wedding rings were made affordable to the middle class.

That is, until the Great Depression.

Financial devastation caused a crash in diamond ring sales. De Beers, the world’s largest diamond conglomerate, somehow couldn’t convince couples that spending what little money they had on an inanimate object to prove wedded bliss was a good idea. That is, until they began to capitalize on the idea of romance.

Using the power of glamor, De Beers bombarded the public with advertisements marketing diamonds as an investment in love, even having actresses pose in pictures to sell the idea (some things never change). Diamond sales skyrocketed 55%. So yeah, it worked.

From there, De Beers continued to entice potential buyers with the idea of bigger, better (read: more expensive) stones with even more ad campaigns. If diamond rings could somehow be synonymous with marriage, then diamond rings would become a necessity for holy matrimony. But how?

The answer is: with words.

This is where copywriter Mary Frances Gerety came into the picture. In 1948, Gerety was assigned to create a slogan that encapsulated the security and eternal romance guaranteed by owning a diamond. According to The New York Times, Gerety scribbled some words onto a piece of paper one night, and the next day presented it to De Beers. The paper read:

“A Diamond Is Forever.”

Gerety cast her spell, and it sold more than a million rings. By the 1960s, 80% of women in the U.S. owned a diamond ring. And it’s still an incantation De Beers uses today.

If there was ever any doubt on just how powerful words can be, let this story be an example.

The slogan might finally be losing its luster, as more and more couples are opting to use different stones, both for ethical reasons and to use different symbolism. For example, some might opt for a sapphire (signifying loyalty), while others might choose a ruby (for love and passion). Others still might do away with rings entirely. Two of my friends have tattoos on each of their ring fingers—the woman has a sun (her husband), and the guy has a moon (his wife). We live in a time where self-expression is making a renaissance, and it’s beautiful to witness. Tradition has its place, but, like with diamond rings, it’s important to know where those traditions are sourced from, in order to make empowering decisions.

For even more wedding ring knowledge, including the story behind Queen Victoria’s infamous golden serpent ring with emerald eyes, watch the full video below.

In the age of horror remakes, it’s hard to find an actually scary antagonist. Yeah, we’ve seen Leatherface and Ghostface and even the weird face from Malignant. But we haven’t seen something that’s actually terrifying: an infant. Well, HBO has finally made it happen!

The Baby is an eight-part series that will focus on Natasha, played by Michelle De Swarte, as she unexpectedly has to take care of a baby on her own. While that’s already a terrifying feat, it turns out that the baby is actually maybe a murderer, and she needs to get rid of it. Yeah! The baby! Listen, kids are scary. According to HBO:

Michelle De Swarte stars as 38-year-old Natasha, who is furious that her closest friends are all having babies. But when she is unexpectedly landed with a baby of her own, her life dramatically implodes. Controlling, manipulative, but incredibly cute, the baby twists Natasha’s life into a surreal horror show. As she discovers the true extent of the baby’s deadly nature, Natasha makes increasingly desperate attempts to get rid of it. She doesn’t want a baby. But the baby definitely want her.

The show looks to be a mix of dark humor and some actual weird cult business as Natasha learns the baby has its own agenda, which may include murdering her. The cast also includes Amira Ghazalla, Amber Grappy, Patrice Naiambana, and Sinead Cusack. The Baby premieres April 24th on HBO. Check out the trailer above.

The South Park dudes (Trey Parker and Matt Stone) sure do stay timely with a quick (less than a week) turnaround between start and finish on episodes. As such, they are apparently taking on the subject on almost everyone’s mind — the Russian invasion of Ukraine — and (possibly) putting their animated feet down upon (in John Oliver’s words) that “huge bitch,” Russian President Vladimir Putin. As such, Mackey’s all up in the nuclear-war prep and, naturally, he’s getting a bit carried away. Who said a little bit of excess ever hurt anyone?

This episode will be called “Back To The Cold War,” and it’s a real throwback, alright, even though South Park didn’t exist back in those days (the show began in 1997 and shows no sign of slowing down in its 25th season). And the show currently has loads of movies in the works, so why not tackle some low-hanging current-event fruit? The sword of satire is surely sharpened for this one, after recent episodes have tackled Covid before teasing something as seemingly uneventful as pajamas.

As far as this episode’s stories-within-stories go, we’re not hearing too much so far. As Comedy Central revealed in a press release, “A lot is riding on Butter’s ability to crush the competition in the all-important dressage championship.” In other words, you gotta tune in to see where this mayhem goes. Hopefully, the South Park residents are doing a whole lot better than Ukrainians are these days.

South Park does nuke prep on March 2nd on Comedy Central.

Whether you think Kanye West’s decision to make access to his new album Donda 2 exclusive to his stem player is a genius idea or a massive grift, it looks like someone out there has found a way to (temporarily) capitalize on it with a scam of their own. A fake version of Donda 2 is reportedly charting on iTunes after being uploaded under the misleading — but not that misleading — name “Wanye Kest,” according to Complex.

The facts that the name is obviously wrong, the tracklist is too short, and that Kanye vowed not to release his album to DSPs haven’t deterred fans from streaming the fake album; according to Complex, Donda 2 by Wanye Kest has reached No. 40 on the Top Hip-Hop Albums chart.

Incidentally, this isn’t the first time someone uploaded a fake album purported to be a highly anticipated one from a big-name superstar to Apple Music. In 2018, fake albums made up of leaked material supposedly from Beyonce and SZA popped up, while in 2019, even Rihanna had to react after an “unofficial” version of her ninth album found its way online. Meanwhile, in 2020, Mario Judah used the hype around Playboi Carti’s forthcoming album Whole Lotta Red to release his own version and hijack some of its buzz — at least until Carti actually dropped his album.

All those fake albums — save for Mario Judah’s, because it actually had his name on it — were eventually taken down, so unfortunately for Wanye Kest, their ill-gotten gains likely won’t last. For now, the only way to get Donda 2 for real remains shelling out $200 for a stem player — or using the slightly shadier method some of his fans cooked up to avoid such a fee.

Multiple times per week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts and ratings) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

10: (TIE) Vikings: Valhalla (Netflix series)

After six seasons of hair-filled action, this spinoff series to the O.G. conflict-packed History Channel hit streaming queues everywhere. This show’s set 100 years ahead of the original story with a new generation of destiny-seizing heroes. The show does follow some new history-famous Vikings, and those would include Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), and Nordic prince Harald Sigurdsson (Leo Suter). Expect all of the violence and bloodiness that fans of the original came to enjoy, all while the fight between principal characters and the English royals will get ugly, as will the battle between Christian and pagan beliefs in super harsh times for all.

10: (TIE) Pam & Tommy (Hulu series)

A solid Third Eye Blind dig and an Emmy-worthy deposition episode from Lily James continue to score raves from viewers who were alrady digging this irresistibly trashy show. You gotta wonder whether the Emmys will roll in here, especially for James but also if they create a special category for “voicing an animatronic penis,” which would obviously go to Jason Mantzoukas. And those mullets (on Seth Rogen and Nick Offerman) score even more points for the hair and makeup team.

9. Peacemaker (HBO Max series)

Peacemaker’s already danced off into the sunset, but do yourself a favor and — even if you aren’t a comic-book fan — go at least enjoy the opening scene and some of the humor. And if you missed this one even as a fellow nerd, you’ll wanna catch on the show’s connections to the DCEU at large, even if they’re arguably (with those Aquaman jokes) problematic. Can Eagly fix everything? Sure, if only for the moment.

8. The Power of the Dog (Netflix film)

This movie will figure in prominently at the Oscars, and it’s surprisingly breezily streamable, considering that some of the subject matter is very dark. Hell, it’s just fun to watch Benedict Cumberbatch put on sinister airs, given that we’ll soon end up seeing him in hero-ish move again in Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness. He’s a strong contender for acting awards all around, as are Jesse Plemons and Kristen Dunst and director Jane Campion, along with the rest of her crew.

7. Law & Order: Season 21 (NBC series)

You can probably thank (or blame) the layered (and shaded) return of Elliot Stabler to the Law & Order universe for the return of this Dick Wolf flagship series. There’s no Chris Noth to be found here, but you will see Sam Waterston and Anthony Anderson. In addition, Hugh Dancy is on board while SVU and Organized Crime are still going strong. NBC is pretty much blocking out a whole night for this trio, so crime-TV junkies must be in Thursday night paradise, while you can stream ’em on Peacock, Hulu, and elsewhere.

6. From (Epix series)

This selection’s not even trying to hide the deliciously heavy Lost influence, and that’s not a bad thing at all. The story follows a normal-seeming town, from which no one can escape, and there’s a sh*t ton of monsters afoot. This one’s a slow burn, so hang on while secrets and puzzles start to unfold, and yeah, sci-fi fans shouldn’t mind having this show tide them over until Netflix brings a final season for Manifest fans to gobble up with wild abandon.

5. Inventing Anna (Netflix limited series)

Ozark might very well be Ruth Langmore’s world, but the streaming realm similarly belongs to Julia Garner. The limited series feels like it’s an episode or so too long, but still, the overall project is worth a binge. Also, it’s all inspired (with a hefty dose of embellishment for additional characters, other than Garner’s Anna Delvey) Jessica Pressler’s New York Magazine article, in case you wanna do some background reading before you start the binge.

4. Euphoria (HBO series on HBO Max)

The season finale was rather devastating on several levels, and my god, high school should not be this traumatic or stressful for anyone. Thankfully, there’s still the music to keep everyone afloat, and now comes the countdown to Season 3. The show can be triggering to watch, but the sophomore season did eclipse what came before, so at least consider finding out what all the fuss (and Fez) is about.

3. Snowfall: Season 5 (FX series)

John Singleton’s brainchild continues, and let the power games and big-crime clashes rise up again. This season pops in with Franklin’s family in a ridiculously rich state and about to achieve all of their dreams. Yet the cocaine-associated death of basketball star Len Bias naturally puts a damper on the good times, especially when the heat (from politicians, law enforcement, and the essentially militarize LAPD) turns up on these characters. As a result, the surroundings of South Central LA grow ever-more dangerous while the walls continue to close in around the family, which only increases the pressure cooker situation brewing in 1980s LA.

2. Severance (Apple TV+ series)

Do you have a healthy work-life balance? Perhaps not, but no matter where you sit on that continuum, you’ll enjoy this show from the mind of Ben Stiller, who takes a real swing on this common struggle. Adam Scott is the perfect leading man for this story, and Patricia Arquette is always great, but we’re also getting bonus Christopher Walken here, and be sure to do your best Blue Steel at least once while basking in this Stiller affair.

1. The Righteous Gemstones (HBO series on HBO Max)

Hallelujah, he is risen. And by that, we’re talking about Walton Goggins acting his tush off as Baby Billy. The second season finale was chock full of wildness from Judy and the boys, all while the mystery of the cycle ninjas finally received some answers. Fans dug this finale even more than the Euphoria counterpart so don’t even try to resist the evangelical cry for you to check this out if you haven’t already. Don’t be “Misbehavin’”!

Who would win in a fight: Rocky or Rambo?

We’ve all had this argument on the playground after we were finished debating Batman vs. Superman, Alien vs. Predator, Ecks vs. Sever. But no one has thought about it more than Sylvester Stallone, who, after five Rambo movies of varying quality and eight Rocky films of better quality, has finally shared his results in a recent Instagram post.

“If it’s two men meeting in the street and going at each other with no rules I believe the outcome would be… If the fighters wore to remain upright Rocky would prevail. His body punches and Right Hooks Would eventually beat Rambo”

There’s your answers, folks. It’s… oh wait, there’s more.

“If the fight goes to the ground , Rambo will prevail In a bloody brutal fight to the end”

OK, so the victor is… never mind, he’s still not finished.

Rethinking this scenario, I believe that upon initial contact, since they will not be in the rain but fighting outside, basically a street fight, the Rocky will land the first five or six blows. If that does not incapacitate Rambo, which I don’t think he will unless he’s caught clean, Rambo’s skill set will definitely be in full display, , Which means incredibly vicious assaults on the eyes, the throat, every vulnerable part of the body eventually leading to being pulled to the ground and most likely mauled… Then again Rocky is incredibly resilient and pretty good on the ground too !!! That’s my opinion in this fictional world. Final result is neither man will ever be the same.

The winner: Sylvester Stallone, for being the only man strong enough to take on Sylvester Stallone.

Starting March 1, Netflix could find itself in a standoff with the Russian government. The issue: the streaming service has refused to carry 20 free-to-air Russian propaganda channels in light of the Ukraine invasion. As one of the larger streaming companies, Netflix is subject to regulation out of Moscow, which would force the company to comply with a new law that takes effect at the beginning of March and requires the airing of the Russian channels. However, Netflix has announced its intentions not to comply.

“Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service,” a Netflix spokesperson told Variety, which then explained the exact quandary the streaming service now finds itself in:

In December 2021, Netflix was added by the Russian regulator, Roskomnadzor, to its register for audiovisual services because the SVOD reached over 100,000 subscribers. Consequently, Netflix is theoretically required as part of a law — known locally as the Vitrina TV law — to distribute 20 “must-carry” free-to-air Russian news, sports and entertainment TV channels.

The channels include Channel One, NTV and Spa, a channel operated by the Russian Orthodox Church. Channel One is understood to be aligned with the Kremlin and likely to broadcast Putin propaganda, Variety understands.

According to Variety, Netflix is the only streaming service large enough to be affected by the new law. At the time of this writing, Netflix has not revealed what it will do should it face pushback from Moscow to comply and air the propaganda channels. Historically, Putin and his government do not handle resistance lightly, as evidenced by, well, everything happening right now.

(Via Variety)